The episode had a real impact.
She instantly corrects herself by replacing the aggressive against with a softer with.
Blue recalls it had this I Love Lucy-bang out feel that she thought could grow into something important.
Sarayu Blue in “Expats"Sela Shiloni/Joanna Chin/Amazon/MGM Amazon Studios
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It was so big for me, she says.
Then it was cancelled.
I dont know if I can lift the boulder back up the hill again, she sighs.
Sarayu Blue in ExpatsJoanna Chin/Amazon
Nicole Kidman plays Margaret, a landscape architect who resides with her family on another floor.
Kidman is also executive producer with Per Saari for Blossom Films.
Thats unbelievable, she says with a Hilary Starr-like purr.
I viewed it all in one sitting.
(By the way, the Amazon MGM Studios series launches today with two episodes.
New episodes launch weekly until the February 23 finale.)
And everything, it seems to me, led to Hilary Starr.
Then I ask myself why isnt Sarayu Blue a bigger star.
Not for the fame of it all, but for the work.
Why not aWhite Lotusor aTrue Detective?
She tells me about a conversation she had with her manager recently.
There was a role shed read for, but didnt get.
Thats okay, she told her rep, I knew I wasnt going to get it.
She told him that throughout her career, she would rarely book roles that are not written Indian.
Recently, the success ofBeefandEverywhere All At Oncehas seen an uptick of opportunity for thespians of East Asian heritage.
Same with Hilary Starr.
Somewhat nonchalantly, certain confidences are exchanged.
You realise that the seemingly effortlessly effort to strike a powerful note is all in vain.
These women have all the trappings but they dont have it all.
Blue sublimely captures Hilarys vulnerability and her exasperation.
I really want to see more people allowed to honor the in-between times and say, I dont know.
I love that you see her really searching.
Shes talking to her friend, shes talking to her mother.
You see her trying to understand it with her husband.
Theres this very real, almost little girl in Hilary asking, But how do I know?
But what if thats not something I want?
What if I like my life?
Its interesting to consider that question and how it gets handled by different people.
I didnt want kids.
I know I dont want kids.
Often, theyre represented as these one-dimensional, ambitious career women.
Blue says she has been so blown away by Lulus intentionality with the storytelling and the direction.
Watching it, I thought, Look at all these actors of color with dimensional characters.
Isnt that always the dream?
Among our friends, we always say, Gosh, I just want to play a person.
I mean, it sounds reductive but is it too much to ask to play aperson?
I wonder what the casting process had been like from her perspective?
Her session with Wang often began after 10pm because the director was working pre-production in Hong Kong.
From her gut she knew the role was going to ask a lot.
You said you want to get in the ring?
You said you want to throw down.
You said you want to do a role you might sink your teeth in to.
I really had to tell myself, All right, Im terrified.
There would be much to challenge for the entire ensemble cast.
I couldnt shy away from that, says Blue.
My job is not to be likeable… My job is to serve the story.
She and Kidman share some scorching scenes together.
Blue says that it was really fun to act opposite the Academy Award-winner.
We had amazing chemistry.
Thats what I love about all these women: were fiery, and were not just strong.
Theres a vulnerability to every single human.
She continues: I see it a lot with Black and brown women characters.
Their description is always strong.
I always want to say, Well, give them the vulnerability and humanity.
Thats whats in our show in so many ways.
Its warm outside, but Blue prefers to remain inside.
Her dad was pretty pissed.
He would watch American TV shows and movies: We dont see Indians in them.
Youre not going to survive.
Blue leapt at the chance to try and reassure him.
She did a term studying theater at a university in Holloway, north London.
Watching those artists on stage made her even hungrier.
Lulu does the slice of life.
Thats part of the reason there was a strike for so long, she says.
Thats unsustainable in terms of surviving, and its really not okay.
I always say that, even though it doesnt seem like it, acting is a job.
Im very lucky that Ive worked as much as I have.
I am really passionate about actors being able to be paid and survive.
However, she says that there needs to be a dismantling of the systemic inequality that holds many back.
Like them, Taylor steals every scene shes in.
Lets all help to push that boulder back up the hill.
